Medicine: Medicine: Jun. 6, 1983

Dr. Hans Selye, the father of stress research, mapped the hormonal
pathways shown in the illustration above some 40 years ago. Since then,
scientists have found that stress provokes a number of even subtler
chemical changes in the body that may have profound effects on health,
both physical and mental. "There is a constant intertwining of stress
systems," says Stanford Neurochemist Jack Barchas. "It's much like a
symphony."

Over the past two decades, researchers have learned that stress triggers
chemical changes in the brain. Particularly sensitive to emotional
strains are the concentrations of...